Christian teachers use holy water on atheist colleague

You’d figure schools would be the place where atheists would be the ‘safest’ … after all, these places are supposed to be bastions of knowledge and education. But lately it just hasn’t been that way. From Texas re-writing its textbooks to students harassing atheist teachers, there’s a full on movement a brewin’ to make schools a battlefield between belief and non-belief. Sometimes these battles are disturbing, sometimes they’re funny, and sometimes they’re stupid. This particular tale about a spat between Christian and atheist teachers in Florida probably leans more towards the funny / stupid side of the spectrum:

Two Florida teachers allegedly poured holy water on another teacher because she is an atheist, WPLG-TV in Miami reported. The station said Leslie Rainer and Djuna Robinson have been removed from their classrooms. The veteran and self-proclaimed Christian teachers work at Blanche Ely High School.

In April, they were reassigned after another teacher, Schandra Rodriguez, who is an atheist, said they poured holy water on her during an incident at the school on March 11.

“Miss Robinson obtained a little bottle with some perfume in it in jest, and the students will all confirm she never went close to Miss Rodriguez. Miss Rodriguez was on the other side of the classroom and that was basically it,” said Johnny L. McCray Jr., Rainer and Robinson’s attorney.

The accused teachers said it was a joke. Rodriguez, however, said they did it because she is an atheist.

Rodriguez is still teaching at the school, and some said it’s not fair.

“If we are going to ban talking to students about God, then the atheists should also be banned from telling kids there is no God,” said the Rev. Kirby Thurston.

The only thing these teachers were banned from doing was acting like atheists are unholy creatures on par with vampires and demons. It kinda sounds like a bunch of people getting butt-hurt over nothing, but I guess I’ve never had a job where co-workers promote the idea I’m evil because of my beliefs (or lack thereof), so who am I to play this down?

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Comments (3)

J. N. Hudson

The fact that this was done during class and in front of students is frankly unexcusable in my opinion. It could, and likely was intended to, impress upon the students that it’s perfectly ok to publically target atheists for abuse and/or ridicule. Would such an act be so easily written off as “just a joke” had they poured “holy water” on a muslim or hindu teacher? All that aside, these women are supposed to be teachers and as such have obligated themselves to serve as role models and authority figures and such infantile shenannigans undermine not only the teacher that they targeted, but the institution as a whole.

“Rodriguez is still teaching at the school, and some said it’s not fair.”

How is that “not fair”? Do we penalize the victims of crimes? When a teacher engages in unacceptable actions lie using a racial slur against a student do we also suspend the student who was the target of that slur? These teachers choose to target a fellow teacher with a practical joke in class and during school hours, so how is it the victim of their juvenile action should be penalized? Oh wait, I know why… because the teacher doesn’t share the same personal and private religious beliefs as the people complaining about her.

“If we are going to ban talking to students about God, then the atheists should also be banned from telling kids there is no God,” said the Rev. Kirby Thurston.’

There was nothing in this article, or any other article I could find about this incedent that makes any claims that Miss Rodriguez was using her position to tell her students that there is no “god”, nor is identifying yourself as an atheist telling people that there is no “god”, it’s an expression of a personal opinion and completely irrelevant to, and in no way excuses the fact that the other two “teachers” acted in an inappropiate manner, and in front of students no less.

LB

If you need more proof that most of humanity is batshit craaaaazy well here it is. Honestly, sometimes I just want to live in arctic where it’s never hot and there isn’t another soul for hundreds of miles. And they’re probably up there for the same reason.